Abstract [en]

The southern part of the border region of Sweden and Norway, Inner Scandinavia, is characterized by a state of permanent mobility. The region contains of a large region for the labor market at the same time as it is a region of low level of education. The region is looked upon as an engine for mobility because of large streams of trade and commuting. The stability in the economy has changed lately why the future situation is unsure. There has been a careful decline in the norweigan economy which might effect the swedish boarder region. The strong boom I Norway and the week swedish crown has created possibilities for example boardershopping and an increased region of labor market. This can suddenly be erased.

Right now the Swedes travel to Norway to work (commute) while Norwegians travel to Sweden for shopping (border shopping). This is a result of Norway's quite recent oil findings that have made the country one of the world's richest, but at the same time led to more work opportunities than hands available. Since the Norwegian crown was worth more than the Swedish, wages in Norway has been higher than in Sweden, but it has been cheaper to shop for groceries, alcohol, cigarettes etc. in Sweden. There is also political interest of the Swedish proximity to Norway. In Värmland, the regional policy has expressed goals as to work for good relations between the countries, especially for developing business needs and facilitate both imports and exports of goods and services between Sweden and Norway.

In our study we focus the border between Sweden and Norway from a very special perspective. We examine the implications of Swedens proximity to Norway from a regional perspective, and are interested in how the inhabitants of the county of Värmland look upon the proximity to Norway. The proximity to Norway acquired a special meaning for those who live near the border on the Swedish side - they can work in Norway and live in Sweden. Border trade has also got a proper rise, partly due to economic circumstances, and partly a result of large investments made in particular cross-border trade. We want to, in other words, find out what impact this can be said to have for a specific region on the Swedish side. In relation to this, we will analyze how citizens in the County of Värmland perceive their living environment, community services, and how well they thrive where they live. We will investigate how satisfied citizens are with the life, and relate those results to a rural versus urban perspective. In this study, we will make comparisons between the citizens of Värmland and the citizens of de border-part of Värmland, the western Värmland, ie residents in the border municipalities Årjäng, Torsby, Eda and Arvika. The purpose of this is to compare the different civic groups, those living in the border region versus those living in other municipalities in Värmland. The question is whether, and if so how, Norway has significance for Värmlanders?